Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
9 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
Advertising
You'll be interested in Knowing I I ,1 irpHAT as a result of the steady increase in the patronage bestowed on our Furnishing Department, we have found it imperative to place more room at its disposal There are many reasons why we consider your best interests will be served if you | patronise this department of our establishment when requiring either furniture or § furnistings—here are the four chief:-— 2.—The best selection is obtained from a large stock—in our extended show- 1 I ii I.-The best furniture is always the cheapest-we stock only the best. rooms our display will be both extensive and comprehensive. §.—Furniture that is well made and finished lasts twice as long as furniture that is merely made to sell. We guarantee the quality of the furniture we offer for sale in every particular, 4.—There's fashion in furniture as much as in dress. Our stock always includes the very latest styles and most approved designs. DINING m QUITCH ROOM !'l !VjiilillSl'l¥^ IN SATIN WALUT, UAK, 9 QUITPC fNlN jSfi |S|3 ALL OF BEST MAKES AND 9 OUI I CO |f|p| igRTf Jf^If FIMISH■ I "fit NO SHODDY MAKES KEPT fROM JE5I 10 SHODDY MAKES KEPT I mmmimaiM' From 16:19: 6 S £ 5-15 -0 «*« PMM MM ■ V U i y^" of present season | S In Brass, Iron and Wood. 1 We want your custom, ana we will spare neither time or money to merit same. 1 We want you to feel free at any time to walk round our show-rooms, we. want you to 8 see our goods, we want you to discuss with us your needs-we are confident that 8 if you do so we shall have your patronage when you are ready to buy. 8 In conclusion we would ask you to always bear in mind that if you want artistic 8 furniture, reliable furniture, furniture that will look well, prove cosy in use and wear 8 well you must direct your steps towards the furniture department of | R. T. JONES & Co., MARKET SQUARE. MERTHYR. |
Antiquarian Column.
Antiquarian Column. CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN 1851. In 1851, when the census was taken, the num- ber of churches and chapels in each union was taken, as well as the sittings and the attend- ants at the va-rious churches. The number of churches and chapels in the Union was as fol- lows. It mux* be remembered, however, that at that time the Merthyr Union included the parishes of Llanfabon, Llanwonno, and Yetrad- yfodwg, in addition to the parishes now includ- ed in the Union-Church of England, 17; In- dependents, 26; Baptists, 30; Unitarians, 2; Wesleyan Methodists, 16; Primitive Method- ists, 4; Wesleyan Reformers, 2; Calvinistic Methodists, 15; undafined, 1; Roman Catholic, 1; Lacter-Day Saints, 7; Jews, 1. Some mem- ber of the various denominations named may possibly take the trouble to locate these various churches and chapels.—D.M.R. WImN MERTHYR HAD A POPULATION -OF TWENTY FIVE. According to a paragraph in the "Gentle- man's Magazine," December, 18C6, there lived in Merthyr In 1800 or 1801 a woman who re- membered tho parish with only 25 people living in it. Remembering the exten"- of the parish and the number of farms in it, it is very diffi- cult to believe this could be the case, say, in 1720, for the woman's memory oould hardly go back beyond that. Have any of the readers of this column access tc tbo registers, and can they ascertain how many births and deaths wese fegiitered about that date?—M7FYB DAB. OLD ROAD BOOKS. rA few days ago. I was look-ing through an. other road-book of the last century, which is over fifty years later than that of Patterson's quoted in your itsue of April 2nd. The only "Owen's New Book of Roads," 1840, is the road Toad to Merthyr quoted in the road-bcok before from Cardiff to Merthyr, and is as follows; the second column gives the distance from the last-named town, and the last column the dis- tance from London:— Cardiff 153 Whitchurch 31 156 Bridgwater Arms 7| 164i Quakers' Yard 5 16& Merthyr Tydfil 8 177 Bridgwater Arms is a public-house by Tre- foren, but one is surprise that seventy yea.rs eigo Pontypridd was not sufficiently important to be mentioned. The main road from Cardiff to Carmarthen, and thence to St. David's, is given; but Aberdare is not shown, nor the roads from Merthyr to Neath, and to Brecon. The only other road in these districts is that from Abergavenny to Brecon. This is given lIswiœ ovet-iirsr, as part of the main road from London to St. David's, and again as portion of the road from Monmouth to LlAnbedr, in Car": diganshire. I quote the first:— Abergavenny 1451 Llanwenarth 12 147 Crick-Howell !52! Treton 2 £ 155 Llansantfraid 6i ••• 1614 Brecon 6§ —• 168 West Bridge of the Usk 8 176 Trecastle 2i 178-34 In the section giving the Monmouth to Llan- bêdn--oad, the only difference is tlial between Llansantffraid and Brecon Llanhamwick (sic) is given 0-4 miles from Brecon and after passing out of BrecoD Llanspetheid is given 2i miles from Brecon. Bound witi thie volume is a slightly older book of fairs, from which I copy the following particulars of fairs given in this district: Absrdare—April 1, 16; Aug. 10; Nov. 13; Dec. 7. MEwi-iiya TYDFIL—March 18, July 18, Nov. 13' ABC. NUMBER OF PARLIAMENTARY VOTERS IN MERTHYR IN 1868. I "Talfyrydd's" notes are very interesting, but he has made a big mistake in No. 7, referring to the number of voters in Merthyr in 1868. The figures given by him were evidently pre- pared before the Reform Act of 1867 was passed —or at least before it oame into force. By the Reform Ac of 1867. which received the Royal Absent on August 15th, 1867, the number of electors in the Merthyr Borough was increased some ten times, and Merthyr became entitled to two members instead of one as before. I am at the moment unable to give the exact num- ber of voters on the register on November 19th, 1363, when that memorable contest took place, but I can give the figures recorded for each candidate. They were as follow:—Mr. Henry Richard, 11,683; Mr. Richard Fothergill, 7,439; Mr. Henry Austin Bruce, 5,776.—MYFTR DAB. MERTHYR IN THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Too following paragraphs from the "Cam- brian'' of over a hundred years ago are worthy of being reproduced in this column:— "Juiy, 1804.—The populous and thriving town of Merthyr Tidvil now enjoys, through the pub- lic spirit of its inhabitants, a post to and from Cardiff five days in each week, instead of throo as heretofore. The conveyance of the mail is entru-ted to Mr. Edwards, of the White Lion, Cardiff, late guard of the Milford Mail, than whom we can safely aver, a more fit person oould not be found." "Nov. 1804.-We hear that the exalted title of Bard was unanimously bestowed on Morganwg' (Mr. Edward Williams, of Fleming- Eton, Glamorganshire), by a Congress of Cam- brian Minstrels lately assembled in North Wa.1es--8.D honoui rarely, if ever, bestowed by them on a native of one of the southern counties." Can anyone give particulars of the .lee meeting—probably aa Eisteddfod—-at which this was done? Nov., 1804.—'Three women killed at Dowlaie by the breakage of a fly-wheel." Is anything "known locally of this? August, 1805.—A young man tarred and fes^hered Merjhyr foi; abeeatiog. "known locally of this? August, 1805.—A young man tarred and fes^hered Merjhyr foi; abeeatiog. from his wedding, this being the third young woman he had thus deceived." April, 1806.—"Dr. Beron, of Neath, is en- gaged, at his own expense, in making a tram- road from Dinas Rock, Brecon, to communicate with the Neath Canal for the transference of the excellent fine clay, etc." Thie tramroad still erista from the Dinas Rock, above the powder works in Glynneath Valley, through Pontneathvaughan to the canal. April, 1806.—"A blind boy in the Wekh Sun- day School at Merthyr Tidvil has got by heart not only seven chapters in the Bible, but also the whole of the Church Catechism and a larger Welsh Catechism consisting of ten chapters." Was the latter Hyfforddwr Charles? April, 1806.Tbe arsenal in the town of Brecon is now nearly completed." May, 1806.—"Boiler explosion at Cyfarthfa Mine Works owing to the neglect of the steam gauge. Several pearsons Seriously injured." SEABCHEB. GENERAL JOTTINGS. 7.—According to an interesting article which appeared in "Cym.ru," July, 1909, Mr. Thomas appeared in "Cymru," July, 1909, Mr. Thomas Stephens was born April 21st, 1821, in Pont I Nedd Fechan (or Pont-neatb-vaughan, as the mutilators of Cymric place-names prefer to call j it). His only schoolmaster was a Cardigan gen- tlemen. namely, the Rev. John Davies, Castell Nedd (Neath), who flourished between the years 1797 and 1865. Mr. Stephens spent but two yews in school; nevertheless, he is said to have progressed at an astonishing rate during that short term—more so than most pupils do to-day. The adjudicator who awarded him the prize I for the essay on "The Literature of too Kymry" in the Abergavenny Eisteddfod, in 1848, was the Rev. John Williams, M.A., Archdeacon of II Cardiganshire, whom Arnold regarded as "tbe heaven-born teacher." In his adjudication, full of praise and surprise, the Archdeacon gave utterance to words which afterwaids proved really prophetic. Those words were: "A new I star has appeared to-day in the literature of WAIN!" The second best in this memorable competition was the eminent Welsh historian— the Rev. Thomas Price (Garnhuanawo). 8.—Mr. Stephens's celebrated essay was pub- lished in book-form at Llanymddyfri (Llan- dov«ry) in 1849, bearing this "The Liter- ature of the Kymry: being a Critical Essay on the History of the Language and Literature of during the Twelfth and Two Succeeding Centuries." The volume had an extensive cir- culation, considering the dryness of the subject to the majority of readers. It was favourably reviewed in the "Examiner," the "Atheneum," etc., and secured for its author a prominent and permanent place among the recognised historians of European literature. It was tran- slated into German by Professor Schull (a copy of which is in our Central Library), and its fame spread widely all over that country. 9.—A second edition of "The Literature of the Kymry'' was printed after the death of Mr. Stephens, and an excellent memoir of the author was added to the book by the two emin- ent editors-namely, D. Silvan Evans and B. T Williams, M.A., Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen)— in 1876. 10.-The reason (or rather the want of reason perhaps) for withholding the prize from Mr. Stephens at the 1860 Eisteddfod at Llangollen —the urize offered being £ 20 and a gold medal—was, that his essay on "The Discovery of America by Madoo ab Ower Gwynedd," al- though otherwise the best sent in, attacked and shattered the popular notion that Madoc did cross over to the New World! The adjudica- tor on that occasion was Ab Ithel, who, it is alleged, was unduly pressed by the Eisteddfod Committee to give the adjudication as he did. Be that as it may, Mr. Stephens undoubtedly took great pains to collect all the testimony he could, m order to bear out his personal convic- tion fearlessly, in spite of the golden bait which tempted him, and regardless of what the bards or the multitude might think or gay— that Madoc did not crose the Atlantic. "Rbydd i bob dyn ei farn, a phob barn ei llafar." TAUYBTOD.
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ARE YOU RUPTURED? SHUN USELESS TRUSSES. STUART'S ADHESIVE PLASTER-PADS WILL^CURE YOU! Everyone sympathises with the ruptured man or woman, for no condition could be more painful and prostrating. A rupture of any nature is the most serious handicap that could be impose. What will cure rupture? A question that should be ask- ed. for without doubt trusses and operations are useless. Thousands have had trueaes without avail, yet still the cry is for a cure. Nature will cure, and in the Stuart Adhesive Plaster-Pad nature's principles have been ad- hered to. This tested and tried treatment is the only one which can be relied on. Hundreds have gladly testified to its splendid success. Are you ruptured? Why stay in this awful state? Be wise and learn how you may be cured. Not only relief, but permanent restoration- restoration effected in a painless, easy, and economical manner. Don't linger in agony, but send at once for trial treatment and full particulars of this fa- mous cure. Drop a postcard to-day to the Stuart Plaster IPa.d Co., Desk 14, 66 and 67, Shoe-lane, Lon- don, E.C., and you will receive complete in- formation concerning the only effective manner i in which rupture can be subdued a.ad cured.
[No title]
J Commander Cawley, R.N., who for twenty- five years was the president of the United Kingdom Pilots' Association, died on Saturday at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol. A Didsbury explorer fractured his thigh in Sunset Hole, near Ingleton, on Sunday, and his party were unable to bring hjg> to and his party were unable to bring him to the surface for fifteen hours.. 1
- TARIFF REFORM.
The Editor wishes it to be distinctly understood that he will not hold himself responsible for the opinions or statements of correspondents, nor under- take to return rejected manuscript. Correspondents MUST write an one side of the paper only. Correspondents are requested to condense the-ir re- marks as much as possible as. owing to the very great demands upon our space, we cannot undertake to publish letters of great length. Letters of a personal character will not be inserted.
QUESTIONS FOR MERTHYR COUNCILLORS.
QUESTIONS FOR MERTHYR COUNCILLORS. "Kindly allow me a little space in year paper to ask the chairman or anyone of the Parks Committee if it is true that stones are hauled From Cwmtaf (Breconshire) to Cyfarthfa Park for road-making at the rate of 5s. 6d. per load? Also, is it true that there is an abun- dance of stones within the curtilage of the Corporation property that can be used for the same purpose at Is. 6d. per load? If the above is correct, why the extravagance ?—Thanking you in anticipation, yours, etc., CONSCIENCE. MERTHYR COUNCILLORS' EXPENSES. Sir ,-Candidates, when seeking ratepayers' votes to put them on the Council, prate of economy, but they do not practice it in dealing with the ratepayers' money. Onoe in, extrava- ganoe is what they practise, and they disregard the poor ratepayers' pockets. Alderman T. J. Evans, the Labour member for Park Ward, moved at the Finance Committee meeting that members be paid a guinea a day travelling ex- penøee and first-class railway fare. Alderman Berry sensibly Suggested that third-class was good enougfh, and said he never travelled third- class and charged firet-olaas. Surely, our Lab- our members ate going the pace with their guinea a day, travelling: expenses, and 8s. a day for each meeting they attend. They will be doing well. I fail to see where the economy comes in I think they should draw it milder on the poor ratepayers' money bag, or a re- vision of the scali of members' expenses will be needed. It is time the ratepayers woke up, or the extravagance of members will land us in queer stroot.-Yours truly, JOHN OWEN- 80, Grawen, Breoon-road, Merthyr. "DIM SAESONEG." CEFN. i Sir,—May I be permitted, through the med- ium of the "Express," to ask the Congrega- tional ists of Cefn whether they intend moving with the times or not? They have two chapels in this village, and I do not think I am far from the truth when I say that two con- gregations could find sitting-room at the same time in Ebenezer. If it be inconvenient to combine in the manner suggested, it is too much to ask them to give us one English ser- mon on Sunday at either of the two places of I worship? Which is it to be—souls or the Welsh I language? BY REQUEST. CEFN LIBRARY. Sir,—"Mab y Mynydd's" notes on Cefn and district prove most interesting reading; they also provide topics for much discussion. Per- I haps not one of his well-written notes has S'ven rise, to so much discussion as that on sfn Library, for, besides "Idwal" having taken it up in your columns, one of the minis- )1 ters residing in the village has made it the sub- ject for general conversation in.a weekly prayer meeting. I take the opportunity of thanking your very able correspondent, "Mab y Myn- ydd," for his splendid notes, which are read with much interest throughout the village. The remarks of the minister with regard to the Ceffn Library have been most freely dis- cussed by persons of &U shadea of opinions dur- ing the pasf week. He denounced this institu- tion, which has as its aim the development of the intellect of too mafte& This Library should be patronised, if for no other reason than because it provides young men with a place to visit, and thereby keeps them from wandering along worse paths. We have in the village eighteen puhlic-houses, and if the Lib- rary did nothing else than divert the attention of a few young from these houses, then, to a degree, it is performing praiseworthy tasks. If ministers want to fight the evils now prevalent in this district, Let them start waging war against the publio-house evil. The billiard room at the Library does not comprise the whole Library. There is a reading-room where many of the South Wales and London dallies, as well as splendid Welsh and English period- icals, are read; on the second floor, too, a room is aet apart for keeping the 1,000 odd books— all being the possession of the Institution. Keeping an observant eye on the members, I have been agreeably surprised to find books that havebeon taken our by those who would appear to be illiterate. young«r, as well as the older members, make splendid of the facilities offered them, and the knowledge of the average member of present-day events is always up-to-date. If there are a few whose aim is to satisfy the craving for sport, then they are in the minority; and even these, through personal contact, and without knowing it, better their conditions. The great majority find good food far thought here, and have this as their first aim. The Library, too, is not a public one; but the subsoription is only 5a. per annum. This 5a. is well spent, and the village should be proud of suoh an institution. No one- visitors exoopbed-is privelegéd to enter with- out his being a member, either ordinary or honorary. Thinking you in anticipation, I am, yours, e*c^ LECTUS, POLICE AT ABERFAN. Sir,—-One signing himself "Ex ProSesso" tries to make out that what was stated re the police in the "Express" a fortnight ago was utter nonsense. Why did 00 not point out where the nonsense came in, and prove that the state- mants were not correct? As to the police being i an exemplary lot, no one denies it, and more- ever are if j;t -b" pl" j a little more time and read my letter more minutely, he would have found that I really upheld the police. What I said was that one officer canrn perfom the duties necessary in Aberfan, and I still adhere to thai statement. It is true we have two offioers here, but does not Sergt. Howells spend as much time in Merthyr Vale as he does in Aberfan? No one can expect the remaining one to do twenty- 'oar hours' duty. Regarding the tricks that re being played, just to convince my friend, will name him a few: Destroying flowers and ants on Aberfan-road when going and com- !Ilg from work; kicking and upsetting all kinds of utensils, some of which are stolen; knock- ing and kicking doors. Of oourse, if "Ex Pro- fesso" thinks these are mere jokes, he is wel- come to have them played on him. What the "drowning of a boy" has to do with substanti- ating his case, I cannot understand, for did not dozens more, besides the police, some of them hip deep in water, spenc1 hours diligently searching for the body? Perhaps he will fully explain to us in his next letter.—I am, yours, 6 PROTECTIONIST. RACK-RENTS AND HIGH RATES AND TAXES. Sir,-M.any people have themselves to blame for rack-rents, for they go about offering; any- .,„, ..—————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————-————"———-
METiT riT"R. MAY-DAY SHOW
METiT riT"R. MAY-DAY SHOW x ,/f VIEW Bmm GBOdKlfc [ — ■— 'IFTORGE IRUMFINGI QGAJWEI'MWI^ | -r-—-—w —ii urn — — -■ I
Advertising
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- TARIFF REFORM.
In thing from la. to 8s. per month more than what the owners are getting. As a rule, this class of people don't mean to pay any Tent at all if they can help it, and no doubt many owners have found out that it is better to have an honest tenant at a reasonable rent than a dis- honest at a rack rent, or no rent at alL many householders among Ua ignorant of rates and taxes and ground rent. They think when an owner takes hie rent, it is all profit to him; but make a ^reat mis- take. Here is an illustration from Treforest. A house costing about £ 200 is rated at »10 10s.; th/5 general district rate is 2s. 6d. in the £ the poor rate, 2s.; and the water rate about 3e. lOd. per quarter, and there is annual ground rent of 21 9s. 6d., making a total for the year of about £6. This class of house cannot very Well be let for less than 30s. per month, but it is reported that they are let at 28s. per month at present. If the Councils could build houses and then let people have them by paying rent, it would go 4 long way towards solving housing problem. Our Co-operative and Sick Benefit Societies should be first to help its members to buy houses, but they do not lend lees than 210U, and then there is a form to fill up answering 46 questions. I found a local solicitor much better and without any fuss and bother at the same rate, viz., 5 per oe&t. A RATEPAYER. TARIFF REFORM. Sir,-During the past financial year, Messrs. Brunner, Mond, and Co., the well-known chem- ical manufacturers (which, like cocoa manu- facture, ig a protected industry) have increased their profits by over £ 3G,000 an eloquent tribute to the advantages of Protection. The allocation to suspenoe account is raised from £ 100,000 to £ 150,000, whilst the dividend is again 27 per cent. Some people are inclined to grumble when Messrs. Guest and businesses pay 10 per cent. I have not noticed any correction of the statement recently made by you that tea which in this country costs Is. bcl. per lb. is 6s. per lb. in Germany. As the duty is 5 £ <L, as compared to our 5d., t would pay Germans to send over 'here for tea, if that were true. That is another Free Trad- oer';s taradiddle. You also said that it would be fair to compare Russia^ Spain, and Italy as protective arguments, as well as Germany and the United States of America. I replied to that in your columns about twelve months ago. and do not think it needs repetition. Why don't you compare Turkey for Frea Trade pur- poses with, say, Germany?—Yours truly, A. T. SMITH. Merthyr Tydfil, May 16th, 1910. TREDEGAR HOUSING QUESTION. Sir,—I read in your paper of last week a re- port ol a ratpeyers' meeting at Park-plaoe Schoolroom, in which a speaker said "the Coun- cil will require careful watching." The alarm and call to arm appsar to have been caused by the rumour that a councillor had suggested the erection by the Council of workmen's cot- tages, which, in the words of a popular adver- tisement, "will supply a long-felt want." It has been said, and there is a certain amount of truth in the statement, that there is a law for the rich and another for the poor; but I have never heard that there is a religion for the rich and another for the poor. Should the Park-ptaoe meeting consider that the poor in- habitants of slum dwellings, who, through pov- erty are helpless, ought to remain in their un- healthy, miserable, and depressing- slumdom, then they set money before the principles of Christianity, to suocour the poor and needy, and raise up thoqe that fall, and try and leave the world better than they found it. Most op- portunely, a letter was read stating that the Savings Bank would lend money to the Council at 3 per cent. I trust this statement will soothe their irritable and nervous consciences. I, on the Council, shall advocate the adoption of the Housing Act of 1909, to build houses in suffi- cient numbers to accommodate those living in 82 oellars, and in the great number of insani- tary houses, of which there are more in Tre- degar than any neighbouring town. The reasons are given in Dr. Spenoer Lowe's report, which states of tho cellar or cave dwellings, "bedrooms practically in total darkness; the walls are damp; they are insufficiently ventilat- ed. I visited a large number of the above, and in my opinion thev are totally unfit for habita- tion. Some of the slum property in Trodegar is owned by members of the District Council. Overcrowding is extremely rife." Common observation associates a high death rate with due crowding of habitations, and Dr. Farr'3 discovery, that the length of life and density of population bear to each other a direct statis- tical relation, is still an accepted truth, though it may not be the whole truth. R«oent returns from Laedon Council dwellings show that in the most crowded quarters in London, the in- fant dh rate can be reduced to 8 per 1,000. In Tre&gar it is 134; last year, 157; in 1804, 193. figures speak for themselves. The loss from such results must be enor- mous, »nce for every death many must be ail- ing, and the virulence of the disease is further aggrated by insanitary surroundings. Who dares to say after reading these cold facts that a reform is not needed? If the Council under- takes th& work, simply from a humanitarian point of view, who will blame them? The dawn is at hand. We have put our hand to the plough and will not look back.—Yours faith- fully. -••J-j > vgmYAb. I "WHEN IT WAS DARK." Sir,—Please allow me a little space in the columns of your valuable paper to point out what I regard as an error of judgment on the part of the author of "When it was Dark," which was reoently performed at Ebbw Vale. I am sure no one could have witnessed this performance without being deeply impressed as I was, if they had the neoessary knowledge and were in a position to follow the play. I find no fault with the actors of the different parts, as they did their work in a most excellent and pathetic manner. What I have to com- plain of is the assumption that if Christianity and all the sayings and doings of Jesus were not true, the world would become a chaos. That is, all the hopes of mankind and faith in the Resurrection of Jesus would be futile, and all the prospects of a future state, held for two thousand years, would have Bed like chaff before the wind. Mankind would again wallow in lasoivioueness, and all other kinds of evil, and become like the beasts of the field, with no regard for each other, as the ties of love and friendship would have fled for ever. Is it true? Why did the author of this novel assume this, and thus attribute so much to" the Christ- ianity builf upon the life of Jesus two thousand years ago? P is as though he said that the world previous to the introduction of Christian- ity as a whole was steeped in vice and iniquity, and that there was no hope of mankind ever rising from that awful condition without Christ- ianity. This cannot be true, as there were men hundreds of years before this who lived to a high standard of morality and religion. What is the use of linking Christianity and religion as being one and the same thing? Christianity is only a oreed. Religion is part of the constitution, of man, and has ever been struggling in man for the supremacy over his lower passions. This was the ancestral struggle, and this is ours. Had the author noted the rise and progress of humanity in regard to the religious element under the old dispensation, he might have applied it to the religious ment in mankind, and not to Christianity. Surely he could not have known the Old Testa- ment history, or he would have known a large number who had risen above their environ- ment and led a virtuous life. This proves em- phatically that the rise of the religious element in man is not due to Christianity, and that Christianity is only another name for religion. Then why imagine a chaos without Christian- ity? It is not true. Again, I notioed at the end of the play that those who were trying to prove Christianity to be a lie were struck dead by the Almighty. This, again, is an old sup- position, and is believed by many to-day. But no right-minded man can believe that God, who is regarded as our Father, could strike His child to the earth because he had made a mistake. Let us suppose for a moment that them were men who believed conscientiously Christianity to be a laroo, and did all in their poWer to destroy it. Would it be just to punish those men, for what they believed to be the right thing to do? The Jaw of our oountry will punish a thief, but not kill him. 10 God less sensitive in regard to his own chil- dren? In conclusion, permit me to say that such performances only make more sup- erstitious, and terrify minds of the weak, and ought not to be performed. URIAH S. WILLIAMS. 5, Duffryn-road, Waunlwyd. CHURCH OF ENGLAND CLERGYMEN: AND THE BREWERS. Sir,—I am sorry that Mr. Wells is not going to entertain us with any more of his letters. He is running away after he has hopelessly failed to disprove anything that I have said. Undoubtedly, he has done one thing; indirectly he has been the means of opening the eyes of your readers to see how the alliance between Church and Statoa compels that Church, in or- der to retain its vested interests, to join with brewers and landlords against the peoplo. Mr. Wells says tha* want to Church. I say that are the persons that ar* fighting against crippling it. What cripples it^ano paralyses its arm so that it cannot raised m the day of battle against intemperance, un- righteousness, etc., is its alhanoe with the Stàtè. I find that in your issue of April the 30th, two mora valiant champions of Church boldly come out to assist Mr. Wells a little. One of these correspondents did not give his name. His letter is not worth taking any notioe of. The other correspondent, Rev, R. P. Hughes, is proud of the Bishops who voted for the Licensing Bill, and he boasta of it. As an old Good Templar myself, who had the privilege of starting and naming "The Hope of the Valley Lodge, » I feel that Mr. Hughes is not of the stamp of the Good Tem- plars I have met with. He thinks it right for him and other Churchmen to sell temperance reform for the mess of pottage. One of his sentences is IOOst damaging to. the Church, where he says that if we drop I)iaestablieh- ment, etc., "temperance reform would only be a matter of months, not years." From this it is cteaj that the material interests of the Church is the great hindrance that is on the way to settle the drink question. The Church thinks more of tithes than of the 120,000 that (through the drink) go annually to their un- timely graves. The last Government will ever be remembered for two things—the introduction and the passing through the House of Commons of the great Licensing Bill of 1908, and the epoch-making Budget of Mr. Lloyd George in 1909. The aim of both mea-sures was the elevation of the masses, and the conversion of drunken Britain into a sober country. As Mr. Wells himself confesses, it was the fear of Disestablishment and Disendowmeni; that caused the Church to turn its back on the temperance cause, and of course by so doing they were working with the enemies of temperance. Mr. Wells at first blamed me for saying that clergymen worked with the brewers, but in his last letter he un- wittingly admits that what I said was true! Hero are his words: "The clergy undoubtedly conscientiously believed that there were other issues at the last election more important to them as loyal Churchpeople than the Licensing Bill. and accordingly votes weft re- corded in favour of the Tory candidates, who stood firm on matters relative to the position of their Church, etc." He does not now deny that the clergy turned their backs on the tem- perance cause, but he tries to justify it! But after confessing that because their tithes were in danger, they deemed it prudent to leave thf¡. temperance camp, Mr. Wells says, "It 16 I sheer nonsense for him to maintain that the clergy joined hands with brewers!" When they did not work with us, temperance men, ) with whom were they working, then, but with the brewers and their allies? Were they not ( supporting the party which the brewers sup- j ported and financed? If they apt with After election, Mr. S. L. Hughes, M.P., J wrote: "Mr. Bung worked like a Trojan, and 1 the clank of the beer engine never ceased., Nothing that money could buy was wanting!" And of Manchester he says: "They had a bishop labouring in the same cau, jhus con- stituting, not for the-first, the triple alliance." In order to influence his parishioners to vote against the Government, the Rev. A. William Hamow Lefroy, B.A., Vicat of Appleshow, writes: "My dear parishioners—I will try, truly, faithfully, and impartially, to put a few facts before you. If you have h.n Liberals, don't think that you are supporting the old LiberaJ Party by voting for this Government, for this is a Radical Socialist Government, and the Liberals as a party are extinct, defunct, gone. This is a mushroom Government of up- starts, sprung from whence? Few of them were ewer heard of until 1906, with Lloyd George, a little dissenting solicitor from Wales, as En h h Chancellor of the Exhhequer, etc. If Got! ilows this Government to return to >iTiop, and He may do so, I shall look on it as a aure sign thai He is about to pour out the vials of His wrath upon this nation, and to inflict upon as Hie sure judgments," etc. In the case of the Rev. Geo. R. Oakley, M.A., Littleborough, we have another specimen of the inconsistent total abstainers whom Mr. Wells tries to defend, who are with the army of tem- perance in the time of peace, but when the ary 01 battle oomes, they, like "the duMren bf Ephraim turn back in the day of battle." Mr. Oakley writes: "I have been a total abstainer lit and a supportei of the Government and the Licensing- Bill, but I believe that of inestimable more importance than any of these matters is the definite religious infraction of those children with whom the future of oar nation lies. » every means in my power, I shall strive to take my humble Pad in the overthrow of the Government." I could go on, but enough to quoted to show that the clergy who pray every day that the poOple may live "Goodly, righteous, "and sober lives," poured out a tornado of hatred upon the only Government that has ever sought to translate that prayer into fact by parsing into law what was virtually Bill of Chucoh of England Tempwajooe Society. Not only a hwnble dissenting minister, who is sneered at by Mr. Wells and Co., but many of his fellow oksrgy condemn the atbitude of the Church in the laet election. The P-ov. A. M. MitobeU, M.A., "Vicar of Great Clacton, lows, writes: "Beer has suffered a defeat, but only partial; the sturdy North has spoken against the dominanoe of the drink But the rout of be-or has not, unfortunately, proved national. And why not? The answer &-the attitude of the Church. Beer would have been much more signally, and would have been routed completely—South as well aa North—if the National Ohurob had stood firm and unflinchingly fought the liquor lords." I cannot but admire the courage, sincerity, and the righteous indignation of this good man. If all too clergy were of the same type as this man and the Bishop of Hereford—whooa we. the people, dearly love and admire-the Ohunfth would have no need to sell its birthright in order to have the State to support bar. Let give you extracts from the letter of a Lon- don clergyman who has a vote in two county divisions: "I was down in my native county- Herefordshire (North and South)—recording my vote at the election, and there I saw the drink working its harden to defeat the Liberal Party by any sort of means, however sinister, because of its magnificent efforts to free our land from the tyranny of the 'tirade,' and alas! almost all the Church of England's influence and clergy (notwithstanding the brave, magnificent action of the Dean and one of the Canons in openly supporting the Liberal cause, and taking their stand for liberty and purity) were working on the 6à.mé side as 'the trade,' making the lame &nd lmpoten- excme that the maintenance of. Oburoh schools (which are kept tip by the money of the ratepayers of the country of all classes) was of more importance than the constitution, representative Govern- 11t, and freedom of trade. At Leominster, V"Urch workers there voted with and on tne side of Toryism and anti -reform. The same state of things occurred in West Herts. (Watford), with its three breweries wholly given up to the influences of "the trade. Before rushing to the Press to condemn me, Mr. Wells ought to know a great deal more about the last election.—Yours, etc T. c. NAVIES. Iianhilleth, Mon, CHURCH INTERESTS FIRST. Sir,-The cAt is now out of the bag, let out not by the astute Rev. Mr. Wells, but by. the Rev. R. Price Hughes. It M because the Liberal Party proposes to Disestablish the Church in Wales, and because "the ancient en- dowments are in danger" that causes the clergy to buokle on their armour against this iniqui- tous foe. Temperance, questions of reform— everything must be laid aside to fight tne enemy of the Church. The ory, "Church schools in danger," is succeeded by the cry, "Our endowments are in danger." Surely, the clergy in Wales must see that even this ques- tion, important as it may appear to them, is nothing besides the more important questions of a. nation's temperance, a nation's food, and a nation's freedom. Your readme will judge for themsslves. To accuse the Rev. Mr. Da- vies of unfairness is absolutely wrong. He h«g been scrupulously fair, and has rather under- stated the matter. I found myself during the l&s^ election in towh after town, after village, and the clergy actively support- ing the Tory Party. The present system of Church patronage is to hlame. If the squire presents the clergyman to the living, he has to dance to the squire's music; and if the brewer subscribes liberally to the Church, he will con- sequently close his eyes to the conditions and evils of the tied house traffic Mr. Wells makes an important Admission. He says: "I am in- finitely glad that the clergy in this diocese take opposite aides to him" (myttelf). Thus he admits the very thing that Mr. Darvies asserts, only more strongly, for he says "the clergy," and Mr. Davies only suggested the "majority" are joined in the alliance of the drink interests, landed interests, and so-called Church interests. I venture to believe that of if the Church were indeed the Church of the people, one would And the majority not the minority, of the Church clergy on the side oil the people.—Yours faithfully, O. LLOYD EVANS.